1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved oropharyngeal suctioning device for rapid evacuation of fluid foreign material including chunky vomitus and bodily secretions.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In emergency and surgical care hospital and medical provider settings, aspiration of regurgitated gastric contents in patients with an altered gag reflex (e.g., unconscious or anesthetized) is a life-threatening event. Mortality rates as high as seventy percent have been associated with massive aspiration of gastric contents. It is known that as little as twenty milliliters of gastric contents (approximately 1/5 mouthful) can cause significant lung damage when aspirated.
Treatment is simple: evacuation of the airway of the patient prevents the foreign matter from passing from the oropharyngeal cavity into upper airway passages and beyond. However, two factors affect the success of treatment. First, the time needed to evacuate the oropharyngeal cavity and airway of a patient is obviously of the essence; if vomitus can be expeditiously removed, patient morbidity and mortality should be positively influenced. Second, complete removal of vomitus and secretions is also important to prevent aspiration of secretions and minute particles after the bulk of the vomitus has been removed. Moreover, the medical care provider must maintain a sensitivity to possible soft-tissue damage within the oropharyngeal cavity caused by the suction tip during overzealous suctioning. Thus, a balance must be maintained between the need for speedily clearing a large volume of variably sized vomitus and the need for precise removal of residual secretions. Under ideal medical care provider circumstances, removal of the regurgitated materials begins immediately after emesis. A commonly employed suction system comprises a thick-walled vacuum tubing (usually 1/4 inch inside diameter, 8 to 10 feet in length.) with a suction tip for collection of vomitus from the oropharynx of a patient. The tubing is connected to a collection canister attached to a wall-mounted vacuum inlet or regulator, in turn connected to a central vacuum line. Standard hospital regulations require that central vacuum line systems must be capable of generating at least 304 mm Hg at any inlet, the norm ranging between 381 mm Hg and 482 mm Hg.
However, surprisingly, such standard and commonly used hospital suction equipment is inadequate for removing both chunky vomitus and the remaining secretions. Medical literature reveals that a standard hospital setup having a vacuum pressure of 550 mm Hg required 7.5 seconds to evacuate 140 milliliters of simulated vomitus, a period of time concluded to be too long to prevent clinically significant aspiration.
Moreover, commonly used suctioning tips, such as Yankauer tips also having a 1/4 inch inside diameter or less, are designed primarily for applications wherein a capability to evacuate every drop of essentially solid-free liquids or secretions (at most contaminated by small solid chips such as might be encountered during surgery) from a surface is desired. However, such tips become easily and entirely blocked by chunky vomitus. Clearing the blockage in an emergency situation requires additional precious time. Thus, reliable and effective suction equipment capable of clearing the oropharynx of secretions and chunky vomitus in a timely manner is a critical component of an emergency resuscitation procedure.
The present invention reduces the evacuation time by improving suction efficiency of such hospital suction setups. Increasing the diameter of suction tips, tubing, and connectors leading to the suction port of a suction canister increases the rate of flow through the suction device. No studies of the medical literature were found addressing suction device internal diameters to improve suction efficiency.
The prior art likewise discloses no suction apparatus or combination of components thereof having the critical range of diameter for applications suitable to the rapid evacuation of fluid foreign material including chunky vomitus and bodily secretions, nor any combination of structural components directed at improving the rate of fluid flow of secretions containing solid particles to a remote collection container. U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,126 issued Jun. 16, 1981 to Grane et al. describes a hand-held attachment device for use with a tracheal aspirator directed at collection of large, solid particles from the trachea and mouth of a patient. The device provides a stiff suction inlet tube of 200-300 millimeters in length and having an inside diameter of a suggested range of 6 to 12 millimeters (less than 1/2 inch) to permit secretions including large solid particles to pass therethrough; however, nowhere is the range disclosed to be associated with an evacuation rate dependent upon the tube diameter. The '126 invention links the size of the tubing only to the size of the particles intended to be evacuated; therefore, tubing size may be arbitrarily altered to accommodate the '126 invention.
Other patents reveal a wide range of applications for suction collection devices, none of which describe a combination of similar structural components directed at improving the rate of fluid flow of secretions containing solid particles to a collection container. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,140 issued Jun. 19, 1984 to Joslin describes a collapsible fluid collection device having telescopically disposed members directed at reducing its storage space. U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,570 issued Mar. 16, 1982 to Grane describes a tracheal suction pump driven by compressed gas and designed primarily for aspiration of vomitus and secretions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,447 issued May 15, 1990 to Rosenblatt describes an aspirator containing a bellows to isolate gases and liquids collected from the patient from the source of the suction. U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,769 issued May 30, 1995 to Devlin et al. describes a suction system employing a suction control device which allows manual control of application of reduced pressure in the system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,367 issued May 5, 1987 to Gore, Jr. describes a trachea suction tube for removing an obstruction by placing one end over laryngeal surfaces of a patient and by orally drawing air through the tube from the other end. U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,415 issued May 19, 1992 to Shedlock describes a soft, flexible adapter shallowly inserted into the nostril for suctioning secretions from upper airways.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.